


The Last Battlement

by SpaceCat



Category: Babylon 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2013-12-30
Packaged: 2018-01-06 16:38:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1109110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceCat/pseuds/SpaceCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even the strongest warrior can't fight forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Last Battlement

**Author's Note:**

> Any resemblance with plots living or dead is purely coincidental.

Someone once wrote that all his fears arose from the knowledge that he did not have the strength to fight forever.  Every time Talia Winters walks by and I feel that spark of attraction, I know exactly what he meant.  I won't be able to fight that attraction forever and when my remaining defenses finally crumble, my life, my career, everything will be over.  I will have revealed myself to the only person who has the power to completely destroy me.  Like a comet falling into a star, I will immolate myself in her.  Unattainable desire leading to inevitable destruction is a very Russian ending.

Perhaps that is why I am so rude when the sight of her makes me go soft inside; I have to fight all the harder to protect that unaccustomed vulnerability.  But after the chaos around here lately, there was no fight in me today.  I indolently watched her come towards me, all sun-bright hair and just the right sway in her walk.  I was too dumbfounded to do anything but nod mutely when she sat next to me and asked to share my table for lunch.  I rationalized to myself that it _was_ rather crowded.  Belatedly I tried to snap out of my haze, if I kept this up, my destruction would be sooner than I thought.

Regrettably I don't remember what we talked about and I remained enveloped in a cloud of memory.  Specifically, my first glimpse of her when she initially came aboard the station.  Psi-Corps wouldn't condescend to inform us when they were sending a replacement commercial telepath, so I programmed the system to alert me when anyone from the Corps was scheduled to arrive.

When the alert finally came I went down to the passenger deboarding area to keep watch so that I'd know who to avoid.  I had stood off to one side in the waiting area watching passengers come down the tunnel to the customs and security officers who were checking identicards.  It was dim in the tunnel and I didn't see the woman until she stepped into the pool of light by the guard.  She had the most beautiful face that I had ever seen, delicately etched as if from the finest bone china.  It was framed by golden hair so bright that it was like an errant shaft of sunlight that glanced around the dingy waiting area, brightening every surface it touched.  She spoke to the guard briefly with a sweet half-shy smile.  I was utterly entranced.

Then utterly devastated the next instant as she turned in my direction and I could see the Psi-Corps badge that she wore.  I slipped away in shock, determined to stay as far away from her as possible.  Every time I see her, my devastation grows a little more and I have to remind myself of what I cannot have.

I looked across the table at my beautiful doom and missed what she had just said.  "Excuse me?"

"I asked if you knew anything about Isotopic Rubidine," Talia said patiently.  "I'm sitting in on negotiations later between Kriseus Planetary Holdings and Vista Explorations Limited.  They just found a planet with a large and apparently extremely pure deposit of it."

I shrugged.  "Only that it is used in processing Quantum 40 for use in jump gates."

Talia nodded.  "That's all I know about it too.  This should be a very interesting contract."

~.~

Later when I got off duty I was still thinking about Talia.  While she has been on the periphery of my thoughts from the moment she came aboard, I have been thinking about her more and more these last weeks.  Ever since she confided in me after her brush with the underground telepaths Franklin was channeling through the station, I have been able to see her more as an individual and less the symbol of a hated enemy.

I strolled through the Zocalo supposedly looking for something to take back to my quarters for dinner, but really hoping for a glimpse of her.  My search was interrupted by the sort of aggressive businessman that a major commercial hub attracts.  He shoulder checked me in the narrow aisle with his corpulent bulk.  "Hey, watch where you're going," he snarled.

I was sure that I wasn't to blame, but apologized anyway and started to turn away.

"Nothing more than I expect in this place," he said with an unpleasant sneer on his florid face.

I sighed and reminded myself that I was supposed to be diplomatic and that drawing my PPG was totally out of the question.  "Excuse me sir, what exactly do you have a problem with?"

He puffed himself up belligerently.  "What _don't_ I have problem with, you mean.  Poor facilities, poor service…  How can anyone do business here?  You don't even have a reliable commercial telepath that will show up when promised."

That got my attention.  Talia was nothing if not conscientious, and even if she'd gotten delayed with an earlier meeting, she would have let her other clients know so that they could reschedule.

"If I wasn't in a hurry to get on the next starliner out of here, I'd file an official complaint."

"You have my word sir," my smile was poisonously sweet, "that I'll personally pass your complaints on to Captain Sheridan."

He was slightly mollified by that, but blustered on for a bit anyway before leaving.

I was about to take another turn through the Zocalo when my link beeped.  "Ivanova.  Go."  I snapped in annoyance.

"This is Zack Allen, Commander.  Garibaldi's still busy preparing for the Centauri emperor's visit, so he asked me to check out those guys that were found unconscious in Downbelow."

"What guys and when?"  Great, just what I needed.

"One of them just regained consciousness; he says that he and his partner were attacked.  Some valuable survey samples were stolen that they had brought in to have assayed."

"Survey samples?  What of?  What company are they with?"

"Let me check," Zack said.  "Hold on."

I paced the narrow aisle distractedly, and reminded myself that there was more than one planetary survey company on station at any given time.

My link crackled again.  "Commander?  The samples were rubi-something or other."  I heard a datapad clatter against something.  "And the firm is listed as Vista Explorations Limited."

Now I was worried.  "Zack, go ask them if Talia Winters was with them.  She was assisting their negotiations and might be a witness.  I'll be right there."

But all they could tell me was the yes, Talia had been at the negotiation, and no she wasn't with them when they were attacked.

"How did the negotiations go?"

"They didn't.  Mr. Kriseus showed up while we were waiting for Ms. Winters.  He seemed cordial enough, but then she arrived he became upset and cancelled the negotiations."

A sudden idea occurred.  "He a portly guy with baggy eyes, looks like he has a skin condition, all bluster?"

"Yeah, that's him."

I thanked them absently and left, mind racing.  That sounded like the man I'd just met in the Zocalo.  If he really was Kriseus, why had he complained about the telepath not showing up, and he could only mean Talia, when she had been there?

I went to Talia's quarters but there was no answer.  With a grimace I realized I'd have to go to the area of Downbelow where the Vista surveyors had been found.  I was now more afraid for her than of her.

~.~

For this, I changed into civilian clothes, figuring I make fewer waves if I wasn't in uniform.  Once I got near, I linked into Allen and told him to keep a team standing by.  There were the usual lurkers hanging around but I didn't bother asking questions, they probably wouldn't answer them anyway.  I just listened and observed.

After an hour or so, I reached Brown 3.  This area of Downbelow made me a little nervous and even though I was armed, the spaces in this area were too confined for a weapon to be useful.  Plus the smell of the waste recycling units was stronger down here.  I was threading my way through an unusual number of lurkers when I noticed that they all seemed to be headed in the same direction and quickly at that.  Rather like a herd of prey animals fleeing predators.

I ducked around them heading in the direction that they were coming from and took a wrong turn into waste processing.  This area was a confused labyrinth of horizontal and vertical pipes spaced just wide enough to walk through, but close enough that you couldn't see any great distance.  I was almost out the other side when I ran into a scruffy foul smelling lurker.  He was rail thin, whether from too little food or too many drugs I couldn't say, with wild hair and wilder eyes.

"What are you doing here," he rasped, slightly slurred.  "We got business," he tried to puff up his non-existent chest, " _important_ business."  Then he squinted at me as if he had suddenly realized something.  "Right pretty, you are."  He tried to grab me, but I stepped back and he overreached clumsily trying to lean after me and his hand landed on my chest.

I grabbed his fingers and bent them backwards.  "Didn't your mother teach you," I heaved him face first into a large pipe with a small grunt of effort, "to look, not touch?"  He slid to the floor and blinked up in surprise at me a few times, then his eyes shut and he conked out.  "Sorry buddy, I'm not wasting any feminine wiles on the likes of you."  I was just glad I hadn't had to use my PPG.  I pulled his belt off, holding my breath against the smell.  "I have a few hygiene suggestions if you want better success with women," I muttered as I wrapped the belt around his hands behind his back.

Leaving him, I got past the waste processor and kept going until I heard voices, but the echoes were odd in this area and they came into sight before I expected them too.  I jumped behind the coils of one of the water reclamation units and hunkered down out of sight praying that they hadn't seen me.  There were three men I had never seen before and one of them had Talia firmly by the arm, dragging her along with them.  She stumbled a bit and the man jerked her hard and it was all I could do the stop myself from jumping in and blasting them all.  She looked scared and I wished I could let her know that I was here, but didn't dare.  I waited for them to go by and as soon as they were out of earshot I linked in to Allen again.  "Zack? Brown 3, section 7.  Someone's got Ms. Winters.  Hurry."

I crept back up close enough to hear their voices again.  They were being joined by a number of other men coming from the same direction that I had, which made me wonder if they weren't the ones shooing the lurkers away.  I fretted at not being able to count their total numbers.  They were closer to the massive air compression units now, and the noise was a little louder, so I sneaked closer, trusting that it would cover any sound I might make inadvertently.  Suddenly, there were shouts and the din of fighting in the distance that could be heard over the compressors and then just as suddenly they stopped.  Allen's team must have arrived and found their outermost lookouts.  I said a little prayer of thanks.  All the men were tense and turned away from me, watching the direction the noise.

Then the sounds of fighting began again much closer, and the handful of men that I could see formed a rough line facing it.  They moved a little further in the direction of the clamor, leaving Talia slightly behind.  I said another prayer in hopes that the rest were facing away as well.  In that brief instant of distraction just before Allen's men arrived, I grabbed Talia from behind with both arms.  One hand over her mouth and the other arm around her waist, I bodily picked her up and pulled her into the narrow space between the bulkhead and a large compression tank and used my body to pin her against the wall.  Allen's men burst in at that point and I held her and myself as still as possible to avoid attention.

Terror bled out of her so powerfully that even my latent senses picked it up plainly and were nearly overwhelmed.  I was momentary tempted to reach out to her mentally, but repressed the impulse.  The noise of the ongoing fight was loud enough that I risked a whisper.  "Shh, easy Talia," I breathed into her ear.  When she recognized who it was, the tension went out of her body so quickly that I almost dropped her and had to press her even more firmly against the wall to hold her up.  The sounds of yelling and fighting moved a little further away and I risked another whisper.  "You're safe; just keep quiet a little longer."  She nodded slightly and I removed my hand from her mouth, but still kept her pinned while we waited for the fight to be over.

It didn't take long and when I heard Zack's voice, I figured that it was safe.  I stepped back and completely released her.  She turned to face me then slumped against the wall and wrapped both arms across her middle, shell-shocked.  "I'm sorry I had to scare you like that," I said still in a whisper.  "But I only had a few seconds and I had to grab you before they could use you as a hostage."

Talia nodded silently, looking at the floor.  I squeezed her shoulder gently.  "Are you all right?"

She glanced up at me quickly her eyes still dilated, then looked back down and nodded again, still not saying anything.

"I don't believe you," I said.  "But we'll discuss it later.  If you can put a brave face on for a few more minutes, we'll go see Zack and then I'll get you out of here.  Okay?"  She stood and moved to leave the small space, not looking directly at me.  Something in the shock still on her face impelled me to take her by the arm pull her close to me.  I cupped her cheek in my hand.  "Hey, say something," I said softly.

She swallowed hard then whispered, "I'm okay."

"That's better.  I still don't believe you, but come on, let's get out of here."  I took her hand and laced our fingers together, then drew her out into the bustle of security personnel scouring the area for evidence.  She followed me quietly, but pulled back just before we reached Zack.  She just shook her head when I glanced back at her, so I dropped her hand and went on alone.  "Zack, I found Ms. Winters.  I'm going to take her up to Medlab and have Franklin check her out."

"Okay," Zack said distractedly.  "We're going to be busy here for a while anyway; I'll get a statement from her later."  He was pulled away by one of his men before I could reply.

I took Talia's hand again and we went on our way.  I led her through all of the back ways that had the fewest people so that she wouldn't be too bothered by other minds.

When we neared Medlab however, she pulled me to a halt and dropped my hand.  "Susan, wait."

I paused and looked back at her questioningly.

Talia had regained most of her customary outward composure, but was still quiet.  "I really don't need to go to Medlab, I wasn't injured," she said.  Her voice was a little huskier than usual and not much above a whisper, but controlled.

"All right," I said despite my misgivings.  "I'll take you back to your quarters."

"No, please, I don't want to go there either."  She stopped and looked down.  "I know I'm not making any sense…"

"It's all right," I said softly.  "Come back to my quarters and I'll make you some tea.  We'll figure something out."

Talia nodded and took my hand again, smiling at me shyly as our fingers naturally entwined.  Suddenly, even knowing the risks of direct skin contact with a telepath, I really wanted those damn gloves gone.

~.~

Later I watched her doze on the couch.  She slept lightly, her eyelids flickering with her dreams.  I left the room once for more tea and her eyes were open when I returned, but as soon as she saw me, they closed again in sleep.

When I caught myself yawning around midnight, I put my book aside and softly draped a spare blanket over her, then went to get changed for bed.  Ten minutes later when I came out of the bathroom I heard her calling.

"Susan?"  Her voice had a faint quiver.

I hurried back into the living room.  "What's wrong, Talia?"

She was sitting up, eyes once again wide and dilated.  "I woke up and you were gone."

"I was just getting ready for bed."

"Oh."  She looked down at her ungloved hands, folded in her lap.

They were lovely hands, graceful with long elegant fingers.  I covered them with one of mine, enjoying the warmth of the skin contact.    It was obvious that she didn't want to be alone.  "Come on, you can bunk with me.  I'll find something for you to sleep in."  I pulled her to her feet.  "That couch will kill your back anyway."

With a small smile and look of relief, Talia lightly kissed my cheek.  "Thanks for putting up with me."

"Oh yes, it's _such_ a hardship," I teased her gently.  "Come on."

It wasn't long before Talia stood in my bedroom in an old Academy t-shirt and sweats which were slightly too big for her, looking suitably cute in my old clothes.  I was already in bed and held the covers open for her.  She snuggled up against me without hesitation, placing her head on my shoulder and draping an arm across me.  "Thank you, Susan," she murmured sleepily.  Then she was out.  The curves of her body melded to mine perfectly, and the feel of her was both soothing and arousing.  It made for an uncomfortable night, trying to enjoy the warmth of her body against me without thinking about it enough to tempt me into doing something I'd regret.

I was making coffee the next morning, my body still vibrating from holding her in my arms all night, when I heard soft greeting behind me.  I turned, hoping I could disguise my reaction.  Talia's hair was still mussed from sleep and she was gorgeous in that simultaneously adorable and sexy way that some woman have.  I covered up my response by pouring her a cup, hoping that my hand didn't shake visibly, and slid it across the counter careful to avoid skin contact in case she picked up on my feelings.  "Here have some coffee."  I tried not to look at her mouth as she sipped it.

"Mmm…" she purred in surprised pleasure.  " _Real_ coffee?  Where did you get it?"

Still needing a distraction, I waggled my eyebrows.  "I could tell you," I said in stage whisper, glancing around conspiratorially.  "But then I'd have to kill you."

Talia laughed, delighted.

The chime of my link saved me from dwelling further on her lovely mouth.  "Ivanova.  Go."   I hoped my voice didn't sound too relieved.

"This is security.  We'll be ready for Ms. Winters' statement later this morning but haven't been able to contact her.  Can you pass the message?"

"Yes, I know where she is," I smiled at her.  "And I'll let her know."

"Thank you, Commander.  Security out."

I turned to Talia.  "Well, I have to go on duty.  Do you want me to come back and walk you over?"

"Yes, please.  Thank you."  Talia put her cup down and came to me, slipping her arms around me and giving me a hug. 

I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed back.  "What's this for?"

"To thank you for everything.  That was the best night's sleep I've had in a long time."

"Not something I'd ever expect to see on my résumé," I said musingly.

Talia lifted her head briefly to look at me then resumed her position on my shoulder.  "What's that?"

"Personal body pillow services."

I could feel Talia's body move against me as she chuckled silently and my body hummed in response.  Once again we fit together perfectly.  She didn't seem inclined to let go of me and I didn't seem to be inclined to push her away, so the hug stretched out and I held her closer, resting my cheek against the warm silk of her hair.  It was a strangely peaceful moment given my agitation at her nearness.   Just a pause in time, and like a pebble into a clear pool, a single thought dropped.

 _I've already lost._   It had only taken one night with her, a night where nothing had even happened, and my strength was gone and the fight over.  I already loved her.  I mentally shrugged and accepted my doom.  It wasn't so bad, on reflection.  I lowered my mental defenses and soaked in the happy contented emotions I could feel radiating from her.  Settling my arms around her more securely, I sank fully into that peace.

We stood unmoving for long minutes I didn't bother to count; then I straightened up and cupped her face in my hands and kissed her.  It was a long slow exploration, gentle and searching, which she returned in equal measure.  When we finally broke apart, joy was shining in her eyes, and I caressed her cheek.  "I'll be back in a little while."  Her smile followed me all the way to C-and-C.

The crew must have thought I had finally gone completely crazy to be humming on arrival.  But with effort, I put on my usual disgruntled face and snapped at a hapless ensign.  I had an image to maintain, and it wouldn't do to shock the crew too much.

~.~

I walked back into my quarters a few hours later to pick up Talia and stopped dead just inside the door.  She was once again wearing my clothes.  An intensely blue shirt that made her eyes look electric was tucked into dark tailored pants she'd turned up at the cuff, a thin gold belt around her waist accentuated her curves, and a black vest with delicate embroidered gold patterns that set off her hair.  After reminding myself to breathe, I said, "It's criminal that you look better in my clothes than I do."

"I always think you look nice," Talia said with a shy smile.

"Maybe, but you are _dazzling_."

Talia smiled and took a single step towards me.  Then she stopped and I read uncertainty on her face.  I didn't wait for her, just stepped right into her arms and kissed her.  Not the exploration of the morning, but the wet and wild passion that had sparked in me when I walked in.  I slid my hands down her back and cupped that gorgeous ass I had always itched to caress, and she matched my fervor hand and tongue, stroke for stroke.

Finally we broke apart, breathing hard.  "Come on, let's go get this over with, all right?"  _Before I can't stop myself from taking this a whole lot further._

Talia turned serious.  "Susan, may I come back here afterwards?  I don't think I'm ready to go back to my quarters."

I pulled her close again and thought of the scruffy man I'd met in the waste area.  If anyone had laid so much as a finger on my beautiful telepath there would be hell to pay.  Lungs would be the least of what I'd rip out.  I pushed my anger aside and wryly chastised myself for my sudden decent into possessiveness.  "What happened?" I asked quietly. 

"That's where they… came for me before."  She stumbled a bit over the words.  "What if there are more of them?"

How could I refuse?  "You can stay as long as you want."  And I knew that I didn't mean just in my quarters.

She gave me a relived smile.  "Thank you."

~.~

All Talia could tell Allen merely corroborated what the surveyors had said previously.  They and the chief executive from the holdings company had been there when she arrived.  Kriseus had been surprised at her presence at first, and then almost immediately had gotten upset about it and had broken up the meeting.  She had returned to her quarters, had lunch and relaxed for a while, and then when the door chimed, she had opened it to someone purporting to be Kriseus.  Instead of him however, it was the goons that had abducted her.

Allen busied himself with his report while we sat.  While he was distracted I asked her quietly, "What aren't you saying?"  I tapped my forehead to indicate her telepathic abilities.  "Surely you sensed something.  Even if it wouldn't be admissible, it could give us a clue what they were after."

"Really, I can't say any more."  She glanced at Allen and back at me.

I got the message.  "Hey Zack, do you have everything?  We'd like to get out of here."

"Sure," he said.  "If we need any more I'll let you know."

I took Talia's hand again and led her to the Captain's office which was empty.  "Now tell me."

Talia paced back and forth a few times.  "There not much really, it's just that Kriseus was hiding something, something dishonest I think, and that's why he was upset about my being there."

"So he was up to something and knew he probably wouldn't be able to hide it from you."

Talia came and sat on the couch.  "Yes, I sensed that his anger was as much to cover up his duplicity as it was genuine anger."

"Interesting choice of words."  I sat next to her on the couch.  "Why did you describe it as duplicity?"

Talia thought for a minute.  "Because that's what it felt like for just an instant before he got angry."

I got up and went to the comm screen.  "Computer, show me company records for Kriseus Planetary Holdings."  A face popped up on one side of the screen and data scrolled down the other.

"Wait," Talia jumped up.  "That's not the man who was at the meeting."

And indeed it was not.  This man, listed as Stavros Kriseus, had a deeply lined thin aristocratic face with a classical aquiline nose and a full shock of silver hair.  We stared at him for a moment in silence.  "So our Mr. X went to the meeting impersonating this guy, then broke it up when he realized you would know that he wasn't who he said he was.  A bunch of small time crooks doesn't just up and kidnap a visible person like you for no reason, and since they used his stolen name to get you to open the door, I think we can assume he was behind it.  Was it to shut you up? What does he think you know?"

"They did seem a little murky on the details, but they did believe I was to be used for some purpose.  I didn't get the sense that they meant to kill me," Talia said.

I turned back to the comm panel.  "Computer, compile a list of exploratory survey companies and independent planetary surveyors working out of this station."  It only took a few seconds before it beeped that it was done.  "Show list."  One by one the records flashed on the screen, picture of responsible person on the left, company data on the right.

Once it got through the companies, it started on the independents.  On the third one Talia said, "Stop."  The screen froze.  "That's him."

"And the man I saw in the Zocalo.  What's his game?"  I wondered.  "Trying to steal business from his competitors?"

"That could explain why he needed me, actually," said Talia.

"What do you mean?"

"Well those stolen assay samples aren't worth anything by themselves are they?"

"No," I said.  "That stuff sells by the metric ton, there's no market for half a kilo."

Talia nodded.  "Right, their only value lies in the exact location of the planet."  She shrugged.  "Maybe he thought he could pay me enough to scan the Vista people for that information."

"Or threaten you sufficiently," I muttered.  "So he eliminates the Vista guys and claims that you weren't at the meeting to deflect attention away from him and his goons if anyone notices you're gone.  But he can't leave B5 without that location in any case."

Talia read the name off the screen.  "Koro Gorlath.  You'll send this information to security, won't you?"

"Of course."  I smiled at her almost comically relieved expression.  "What?"

"I just didn't want you going after him yourself."

I laughed.  "Worried about me, are you?"

"Yes, if you must know," she said looking slightly abashed.

I kissed her lightly on the cheek.  "Don't worry.  I need to go back on duty, and you should definitely return to my quarters.  We don't want him sending any more thugs to yours."

Talia looked worried at that.  "You don’t think he'll try again do you?"

"I don't know, but let's not take any chances, all right?"

"All right."  Her look turned sly.  "Maybe I need much more serious protection," she said coyly as she brushed imaginary dust off the shoulder of my uniform.  "Perhaps I should ask a nice big burly security officer or two to stay with me?"  She ran her hand down my arm and tugged the sleeve to remove some equally imaginary wrinkles.

I looked at her in outrage.  "There's no way I'm letting one of Garibaldi's big apes into my quarters!"

"Well I guess _you'll_ just have to stay with me then, won't you?" she said smugly.

My jaw dropped and I just looked at her until she raised her eyebrows at me and chucked me under the chin as she sashayed by on her way out the door.  Her voice floated gaily back to me from the hallway.  "Coming?"

"What just happened here?" I rhetorically asked the empty office before running after her.

She was waiting for me in the hall so I took her hand and we continued on.  I was marveling at how natural it felt having my fingers interlaced with hers and again wishing that she didn't have to wear those damned gloves when my link chimed.  "Ivanova.  Go."

Zack Allen's voice said, "Commander, just letting you know that one of the Vista guys just died.  So now murder has been added to the mix."

"We have a name for you," I replied.  "Koro Gorlath.  He was impersonating Kriseus and is probably behind all of this."  I thought of something else.  "And Zack, check the status of the Vista survey ship, Gorlath might try to go after it for the flight logs."

"The Vista people said that they wiped the logs, but we've already secured it anyway," Allen said.

"Then guard the remaining surveyor well, he's probably the only one who knows the exact location of the planet they were working on."

"Done."

"Thanks Zack.  Keep me posted.  Ivanova out."

We continued on quietly.  All joking aside, there was no way I was leaving Talia alone now.

~.~

The long hallway leading out of the operational control areas of blue sector was deserted and we maintained our companionable silence the length of it.  At the far end we rounded a corner onto a side corridor towards the crew quarters.  Maybe being this close to her heightened my telepathic abilities, but I sensed more than felt the blow coming.  I dodged and shoved Talia forcefully out of the way.  A long section of pipe that meant to hit me on the head only glanced off my shoulder, but it was still a powerful enough blow to send me sprawling.  I came back up almost instantly to my knees ready to lunge at my attacker then froze with the business end of a PPG barrel in my face.

Time slowed and I knew there were words being spoken but I couldn't hear them as I watched the finger attached to the gun tense and start to squeeze the trigger.  It was funny, but looking death in the face in that instant I felt no fear, only sorrow that I hadn't been able to protect Talia and the terrible ache of missing her already.

Then a clean pulse of anger flashed over my latent senses and cleared my mind.  The finger I was staring at stopped squeezing the trigger and the arm it was attached to started to shake with effort.  I could see the face behind it clearly enough now to identify it as Gorlath.  He looked down at his arm; sweat started running down his face and his arm shook harder.  Suddenly the hand and the gun jerked upwards sharply to point at the ceiling and Gorlath's eyes bugged out even further as he looked at his hand in horror.  Then his whole body was wrenched into the air by some invisible force and he sailed across the corridor.  His head impacted the wall opposite heavily.  He slid to the floor unconscious and I could move again.

I jumped to my feet and went to retrieve the PPG.  "What the hell was that?"  I looked around.  The hallway was deserted except for Talia, me, and the unconscious Gorlath.  Certainly no ordinary human could have thrown his mass around that casually, like he was no more than a sack of Minbari glomo fruit.

I turned and looked at Talia.  Short sharp pulses of anger were still flaring across my senses matching the fury still in her eyes and I knew somehow that the anger was coming from her.  Slowly it dawned on me that _she_ must have thrown him, though she hadn't moved at all from the point when I pushed her aside.  I stared at her in awe.  "You're telekinetic too?"  I suddenly realized that there was a great deal more power behind that demure smile and pretty face than anyone had ever realized.  I was ashamed at how completely I had underestimated her.  "Thanks for the rescue."  Talia looked a little uncertain so I put a comforting hand on her arm.  "That's quite a gift."

"More than you know," Talia said, obviously relieved.  "At least there was only one of them this time..."  She shifted her feet nervously.

She was obviously uncomfortable talking about it so I pulled her close and kissed her lightly.  "One was all you needed to handle to save my butt, it's not like you're a PsiCop."  She didn't look much relieved at that.  "Relax, you did brilliantly."  I didn't mention the risk she'd taken in revealing her other talent to me; she had to be well aware of it.

Talia toyed with the front of my jacket not looking at me directly.  "I couldn't let him hurt you."

"Then you're my hero."  Her lips upturned faintly at that.  I took her hand and raised it to my lips to kiss her fingers, gloves or no gloves.  "And the most beautiful woman I've ever known."

Her face relaxed into more of a smile, a sparkle returning to her eye.  "Funny, that's what I've always thought of you."

Keeping my eyes locked on hers, I tapped my link.  "Ivanova to Security."

~.~

"Monitor off," I told the computer and Zack Allen's face disappeared.

Talia came in from the kitchen. She slid her arms around me from behind and rested her chin on my shoulder.  "So what's the story?"

"Gorlath's business failed and he got in debt to the wrong people.  He needed a big score and thought that if he got control of Vista's Rubidine deposit he could turn around and sell it to Kriseus himself."  I turned in Talia's arms to face her.  "But enough about him, there are better things to talk about."

Talia brushed her lips across mine.  "You want to talk?"

I chuckled deep in my throat.  "Hell no."

"How about dinner then?"  Talia rested one finger lightly on my chin, then traced down my throat to my chest to rest over my heart.

My pulse raced at her touch and I had to swallow hard.  "That depends, are you for dessert?"

It was her turn to chuckle in that delightfully husky voice of hers.  "Think you can wait that long?"

"No."  I took her mouth fiercely as I swept her up and deposited her on the couch.  Not losing contact with her lips I stretched my body out on top of hers and tangled our legs together.  Talia groaned and arched into me, her hands urging me on.  I let my hands wander, caressing gently here, firmly there, and matching rhythm with the stroking of my tongue against hers.  Talia ripped my shirt open with her mind and her warm soft hands cupped and fondled my breasts sending a jolt through me.  The same mental force ripped my pants open and Talia slid a hand down between my legs and started caressing me.  My own movements became more urgent and I rocked against her fingers with wild abandon.

I pulled my knee up to press against her center firmly, but it wasn't enough, I needed more.  I slipped a hand down the pants she was wearing (my pants which made it all the more arousing for some reason) and moaned roughly when I found warm slick flesh. Talia cried out and gripped me tighter, thrusting her hips more forcefully to mine.  When stroking wasn't enough I plunged three fingers into her depths, ripping another cry from her throat that I caught with my mouth over hers.  The silky wet heat of her destroyed any control I might have had and I urgently drove into her again and again.  The apex came too soon, I couldn't stop or even slow it down; the torrent swept us inexorably over the edge.  Suddenly in the midst of the raging firestorm we were enveloped in a reflective silver bubble of silence and Talia was _with_ me.  Her mind joined to mine, caressing me mentally as she did physically.  For a long moment I reveled in touching the sweet golden warmth of her mind, more pleasurable than even the sensation of both orgasms pulsing through us.

Then my life-long conditioning took over and I jerked away both mentally and physically, abruptly blocking her from my mind and disengaging from her body.  I got up from the couch, shirt and pants still open, and belt buckle dangling down and bumping my thigh.  I stuttered, "I'm sorry, I just…"  I tried not to see the shocked hurt on Talia's face or feel her pain echoing through my heart and mind.  "I can't do this."  I fled ashamedly to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.

I leaned over the sink breathing heavily, panic overwhelming the last aftershocks of orgasm that still rippled in my depths.  My mother's command echoed through me.  _What have I done?_   The words repeated in my head.  I sobbed dryly, trying to cry, but the arctic waste in my heart did not allow tears.  _What do I do now?_  Talia was still out there thinking god only knows what about me.  It would have almost been a relief for her to hate me, but I knew that hate wasn't in her.  I'd seen that in those few euphoric seconds when our minds were joined, and the pain of knowing that I couldn't have the warm gentleness and love that I had felt from her almost took me to my knees.

I hiccupped brokenly again, my eidetic memory cruelly replaying over and over the glorious sensation of touching Talia's mind then her heartbreak lancing through me.  I had to ruthlessly suppress my longing for her mental touch, a longing even stronger than physical desire.  I looked into the mirror despairingly, my eyes were bloodshot and my face looked as if I had aged a decade in the last few minutes.  I sure felt that way; my very bones ached with the effort to suppress my overwhelming desire to go back to her.  I wanted to apologize, to hold her tightly, to swear to never leave her, to let go of my fear, to reach into her mind and truly know and be known.

"Stop it," I told myself sternly.  "Just stop."  I pushed the pain away, trying to numb myself as I had always done, and mechanically started the shower and removed my clothing.  I had to get the sweet smell of her off my skin or go crazy.  I stepped under the hot spray but it didn't begin to thaw the chill in my heart.  I stood there unmoving with my eyes closed and then once again Talia was with me.

I had been so focused on my misery and guilt that I hadn't heard her enter the bathroom and undress.  Only the shower door opening alerted me.  She turned me around to face her, but I didn't open my eyes.  I was so brittle that I would shatter at the sight of her.  She pulled me close and just held me, saying nothing.  Even the sensation of wet skin sliding over wet skin didn't pull me out of my cold desolation.  Her hands moved over my back soothingly until I finally yielded and rested my head on her shoulder.

With this much direct skin contact, Talia certainly couldn't help but feel the conflicting emotions that consumed me.  My fear and pain still filled me despite my efforts to dissociate from them, I was confused at how I had come to this place having broken every rule that I lived by, and on top of it all here I was taking solace from her embrace which I didn't deserve.

Yet coming after me and holding me this way was an act of transcendent forgiveness that could only come from the most loving of hearts.  The weight of gratitude cracked my defenses to the very foundations and finally my tears started.  No sobs, just silent tracks down my face lost to the water of the shower.

Talia kissed my forehead lightly and held me closer, murmuring comfortingly, smoothing my hair, stroking my back and shoulders.  When the tears slowed and finally stopped, she let go and pulled me out of the water so she could shampoo my hair.  I stood compliant and wholly exhausted, eyes still closed.  She worked the lather in gently and massaged my scalp and neck, easing the ferocious tension.  With the same soothing touch, she ran a wash cloth over the rest of my body and then pulled me back under the spray and rinsed me off.

With that done, she drew me out of the shower.  I stumbled and had to open my eyes finally, not even reacting to the sight of her unblemished bare body as I stood, still stunned and docile, while she carefully dried me off.  She dried herself quickly, then led me naked and unresisting to the bedroom and settled me into bed, quickly sliding beneath the sheets with me.  She pulled me to her and tucked my body next to hers tightly with my head on her shoulder.  The opposite of the night before, with fewer clothes.  Making sure that there was as much skin as possible in contact, she resumed stroking my back.  Her voice whispered into my mind with a caress.  _Sleep now_.

And so I slept.

~.~

Some hours later, I awoke.  We had shifted position, she had rolled over and I was spooned around her.  One arm was draped over her and my hand was cupping her breast.  I tried to not be immediately aroused and failed.  It was such a perfect breast, and it so perfectly filled my hand that I couldn't help but squeeze gently and rub a thumb over the tightening nipple.  I silently admonished myself and relaxed my hand.

"Mmm," Talia murmured, "don't stop."

I released her completely and rolled away onto my back.

She promptly rolled after me.  "Don't pull away Susan, look at me."

"I can't."  I shut my eyes tightly.  I felt the bed shift as Talia rose to her knees and straddled me.

"Look at me," she coaxed.  She rocked against me gently and I could feel her slick heat against my stomach.

I shook my head.  "My heart will break."  It took all of my remaining willpower to not match her continued rocking.

 _No it won't._   Her voice whispered in my mind and she leaned forward to kiss me gently.

Obviously I couldn't block her, but kept firm control over my mind and said nothing.  I clenched my hands in the sheets to keep from touching her.

I could feel Talia's tongue trace a line down my throat.  _Touch me_ , came her mental voice again, and I knew that she didn't mean with my hands.  Her tongue descended to one breast and circled my already erect nipple, suckling and nipping lightly.  I kept rigidly still but felt like I would die if I didn't respond soon.  _Touch me_.  She lavished equal attention on the other breast and my breath became ragged.  _Touch me_.  It had become a mantra.  She descended to my navel and nipped her way around it, and I gasped in shock when she bit down and marked me.  Her tongue traced downwards again until she was nestled between my legs and I could feel the softness of her hair on my inner thighs.  _Touch me_.  She licked me with long teasing strokes and I almost, _almost_ , reached for her, to hold her mouth more firmly against me.  The pain of my arousal was acute, but frozen between desire and fear I was trapped motionless.  The crack in my defenses widened.

Talia fully entered my mind now, her rich golden texture glancing through me like sunlight on water and echoing my swelling pleasure as her fingers entered me.  She channeled every desire into me and together we spiraled upwards.   I could no longer remain still or silent and cried out as I bucked impotently against her mouth, unable to reach the crest.

That silent iridescent universe that we had been swept into before now swirled and pulsed around us like a desert mirage, always just out of our grasp.  _Touch me_.  Talia's distress penetrated the desperate haze that I was in, and a clear shard of understanding shot through me.  It was all or nothing for Talia, she was unified mind and body in a way I had never been and the body could not go where the mind was not.  It was perhaps her greatest gift.  The telepathic block my mother had built in me, however necessary, was holding me back from fully merging with Talia's mind.  I had been caught by surprise the last time, but now forewarned my early conditioning trapped me as surely as prison bars.

 _Susan, please._   Talia was practically begging now and facing her pain was worse than facing death.  For the first time in my life I had known true communion with a lover and I knew that I could never go back.  No normal would ever be able to satisfy me now, and I saw how dead and barren my life would be in every meaningful sense without her.  The silvery veil that spun around us started to fade and our arousal ebbed, the summit too long delayed.  I stood on the edge of the precipice, Talia's anguish whipping around me like a high wind, recognizing finally that I wanted Talia more than I needed to keep my secrets.  A great mental shout burst from my mind as I broke through the final barricade.  _Talia!_

I bridged the gap and touched her mind.  It was a glorious eruption of sensation that flashed through us.  Now that I had regained control of myself, I relished the anticipation.  I pulled her up and gently rolled her beneath me.  I hovered over her, taking my time and feasting my eyes on the flawless porcelain landscape that was Talia.  She did not try to take back the initiative but lay trustingly beneath me, nothing but love in her eyes and the lightest touch on my mind.  It was the trust that she was willing to offer up to me again that undid me.  I lowered myself onto her and worshiped the warm silk of her with fingers and lips, and sang her praises in with my tongue.  The glittering veil once again contracted around us pulsing in time with our heartbeat, blocking out the world and reflecting our mutual joy into a cascading ecstasy that finally went supernova.  We clung together shuddering in endless climax, the physical secondary to the mental.  Finally we collapsed and lay entangled, spent and gasping.

Our silent world ended as our minds disengaged, but our communion did not.  I caressed her mind hesitantly and Talia guided my halting attempts at telepathy.  She drew out of me all my nightmares and secret fears almost without my realizing, then wrapped me in a warm protective mental embrace that both surrounded and permeated my mind.  I felt her presence in a way completely unlike our earlier ecstatic union.  Sudden tears burned in my eyes.  This was distilled love in its purest form.  A memory bubbled up from deep within me of my mother holding me in just this fashion and we shared and grieved in consoling silence for a long moment.  It was a healing of a different order.  _Thank you, Talia._

Talia kissed me and slipped gently from my mind, perhaps sensing that I was on overload by this time.  "I love you, Susan," she said simply.

She didn't need to tell me that my secret was safe.  "I know."  I nestled my body alongside hers leaving an arm draped over her, and closed my eyes.  I don't think I've ever been so exhausted emotionally and physically yet so happy.  We lay like that a long time, content to just soak in each other's nearness.

"I love you, Talia," I said and slipped into a deep contented sleep.  The last battlement had fallen and for the first time since I was very small, I felt whole.

~The End~

 

**Author's Note:**

> Questions, comments, suggestions, insults, or typos can be directed here: atomic.space.kitteh [at] gmail [dot] com  
> =^..^=


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